On behalf of the Board, we wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope that you all enjoyed the festivities.
It was great to see so many of you at Hayden Road on Monday afternoon for our first home game of the New Year and Chris’s first home game as first team manager. 436 is our highest home attendance so far this season and we’d like to thank you all for your incredible support.
Thank you also to everyone for the impeccably observed minute’s silence in memory of Stratford Town FC player, Cody Fisher, who was killed on Boxing Day. Cody was a well loved member of the team at Stratford and will be sorely missed. There is a petition online asking for “Cody’s Law” which aims to make metal detectors and bleed kits a requirement at clubs and events. If you would like to support this, you can sign the petition here: change.org – Cody’s Law.
The match itself was one to remember with goals from Jenson Cooper and Miguel Ngwa’s 86th minute winner! If you haven’t already, please do listen back to the very entertaining Radio Diamonds coverage of both Miguel’s and Jenson’s goals. Our grateful thanks go to match sponsors, Coley & Partners and we hope you enjoyed your day with us.
Monday also saw our first food bank collection for Encompass, a local charity helping the homeless in the area. They were amazed at your generosity and have asked us to pass on their thanks to everyone who donated. We will be collecting again at the match v Hednesford Town FC on 18th February when representatives from Encompass will be joining us as part of a new monthly charity support initiative put together by the Community Working Group.
In player news, Morgan Worsfold-Gregg and Jack Connor have now returned to their parent clubs following the expiration of their loan deals. We thank Morgan and Jack for their contributions and with them both the very best of luck for the future. Likewise Kartell Dawkins’ loan from Leicester City has now expired and he has left the Club to begin his trial with Sheffield Wednesday. We will remain in touch with Kartell and wish him well with what is a fantastic opportunity for him. Regarding Northampton Town loanees Miguel Ngwa and Peter Abimbola, we will provide news of extensions as/when we have anything concrete to share. Miguel’s loan has expired whilst Peter’s loan expires following tomorrow’s game at Ilkeston, so he will be available for selection, as will new signings Tali Jallow, George Joyce and John Dean
A reminder that entry at Ilkeston Town FC is free for everyone this Saturday so we hope that as many of you as possible can make the trip to support the team. If you’re not able to make it, please tune in to Radio Diamonds who cover all our matches, home and away, so you can still follow the action. Joseph and the team are passionate about the coverage they provide and welcome any feedback or suggestions for improvements – you can even get involved by texting in your thoughts and questions during the game!
In commercial news, we hope that you have all noticed that Rebel Energy’s logo has now been placed on the first team shirts. Please remember that, if you have this season’s shirt with the old logo on, Macron will cover the logo at no cost; full details are here.
The latest draw in the Lottery was made on 5th January with the winner receiving £513! Full details of the Lottery, which supports the playing budget are here along with details of how to enter. Chris is working within a very tight budget so we’re sure he’ll be very grateful for any additional funds we are able to generate for him. The next draw will be made on 5th February.
This week, we are pleased to offer supporters a season ticket and membership deal to cover the rest of the season at a cost of £75 for the season ticket and £15 for membership. Buying a membership will give you a say in how our Club is run and enable you to stand for and vote in the next election of members to the Board. You will also receive a 10% discount in the Club Shop! You can buy these online now through the Club Shop or, in the club shop at the next home game. Please also remember that player and management sponsorships are still available – please contact Alex for further details: alex.raspin@afc-diamonds.com.
Finally, our Academy U23s and U21s are in NFA County Cup action this weekend and the Moulton College U18s will be playing in the NFA David Joyce Cup on Monday evening. Our Academy teams are also back in action this weekend following their winter break. We wish them all the very best of luck. Look out for the results on the website and on our social media channels.
Thank you all for your continued support and dedication to our Club.
